Chess is an ancient game played using two sets of pawns and pieces on a board with 64 spaces or squares of alternating colors, typically light and dark. Typically, the pawns and pieces are white and black, although other colors may be used as well. The pawns and pieces will be referred to in this application generically as pieces and the sets of pieces will be referred to as white pieces and black pieces. In this application a chess set game will be considered to include a chess set and a chess board. The chess set will include two sets of chess pieces (white and black) and a container for the chess pieces.
Pieces for portable chess set games are often stored in a flexible bag, a cardboard box or a wooden box, with or without foam padding. One of the problems with a mixed or jumbled set of chess pieces arises out the antisocial, competitive nature of chess. To begin a chess game with the pieces in, for example, a pouch, requires dumping the pieces onto a flat surface, usually the chess board. One player will pick out the white pieces and the other the black ones. If the players are good, the process will be a hectic one. One player will often be in a hurry to start a new game to avenge a previous loss and the other will be equally anxious to prove the victory was no fluke. As each player hurriedly sets up the pieces, some of the pieces may end up on the floor, or worse, one player will hide one or more of his or her opponent's pieces and surrender them only after having neatly set up his or her own. The same problem exists when a wooden box is dumped, except that the black and white pieces are more or less separated, assuming the pieces were separated when put into the compartmentalized box.
Another problem with chess arises particularly when using portable chess set games. Portable boards generally fold once in the middle. The resulting board is still long enough to be bulky and awkward. When played upon, they show an unsightly crease or hinge in the middle. Portable boards may also be made of thin, flexible material that is cumbersome when rolled up; they lance and poke people. When unfurled at the site of play, they have a tendency to curl back to their original rolled shape. This is especially commonplace when all the pieces are fighting in the center during a middle game.
Combination board and container chess set games usually use a box large enough for a reasonably sized board, which often allows the pieces to roam, slide and damage one another in the empty space. Some boards have a ferrous or ferromagnetic underlay and are intended to be used with magnetized pieces. However, these chess set games often suffer from inadequate magnetic attraction. This can result in a disastrous spill when playing in an unstable location causing arguments about the positions before the spill and often a tedious search for missing pieces.
The antisocial nature of chess can be exemplified by annoying tactics often employed. One tactic is to position your piece near or even upon the borders of a square. You know where your piece is but your opponent can get thrown off by its off-center placement. Your opponent has to say, "J'adoube" (adjust) before he or she may touch your ill-placed piece and then place it in the center of the square. Doing so, however, deprives the opponent of time allocated him or her by previous agreement. Another tactic some players use is floating a piece to a position just above a square but not contacting the square. This is called hovering. The general rule is touch a piece, move that piece; touch a square, leave it there. Players like to hover because it allows them to see ahead an additional move. Sometimes a player will hover interminably over a square which represents the worst move possible. This can cause the opponent to anticipate one course of action. Then the player will move with lightning speed and occupy a square which represents the best move possible! This is a technique that causes disappointment, consternation, confusion and palpitations in that order.
Still another tactic comes to the fore during speed chess such as five minute chess, 10 second chess, rapid transit chess and blitz (lightning chess). A player will flip over an entire array of pieces while making his/her move. Be it the drooping sleeve, be it through clumsiness or malice, the clock is punched and the victim's precious time disappears. The latter is probably a practitioner and master of this tactic also and thus quickly punches the clock again making the perpetrator set up the position on his own time.
All chess players record moves made during a chess match. The typical way for doing so is to use the standard file and rank ID for each square. The sides of the board where the players sit have the file identifications A through H while the lateral sides of the board have the rank identifications 1 through 8. The files and ranks are labelled from white's perspective. White always moves first, and the person playing the white pieces has the files proceeding from left to right A through H; the ranks proceed from 1 through 8 with 1 being the closest rank and 8 being the farthest. Thus, the player playing the white pieces has square A1 at his or her lower left-hand corner of the board. The player playing the black pieces has square H8 at his or her lower left-hand corner of the board. A board may have the files and ranks marked on only two contiguous sides or on all four. The former requires that black read the letters upside-down. If the numbers are not sideways, the problem of the player with the black pieces is compounded. One of the difficulties with this is that the board must be turned around before the next game with its customary color reversal. Otherwise players must play musical chairs.